Brisbane fund manager
Cromwell Property Group
has launched a new unlisted “fund-of-funds" vehicle to channel investment into new syndicates it has established.

The Cromwell Direct Property Fund gives exposure to four existing property trusts which hold – or are contracted to acquire – six properties in Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

Chief executive
Paul Weightman
flagged the new fund – to be followed soon by a second, the Cromwell Australian Property Fund – as he unveiled a $46.2 million annual profit last week.

The new diversified funds could eventually direct hundreds of millions of dollars into Cromwell’s platform. Mr Weightman hopes to boost the proportion of earnings gained from funds management fees to 20 per cent, up from the current 5 per cent.

The new Direct Property fund has a proposed time frame of seven years and will offer monthly distributions at 7 per cent, based on a $1 unit price. A limited monthly withdrawal facility from July 2015 is expected, with a full withdrawal window from July 2020 and every three years thereafter.

Cromwell also expects to launch a $129 million trust before the end of the year to hold three assets it will acquire from property magnate
Sam Alter
.